THE OVERRIDING REASON to be positive about the appointment of Andy Friend as the new Connacht head coach is that he’s available and ready to start work.
While Ulster, who also reportedly had Friend on their shortlist, remain in a bit of a wrangle over the release date of Dan McFarland from the SRU, Connacht will welcome Friend to the Sportsground next month.
Kieran Keane wasn’t terribly late as southern hemisphere arrivals go; he took the reins full-time in August last year after using a gap in the Chiefs’ fixture list to fly north in June for a sample of Galway. Friend left the position of Australia Sevens head coach in April so will be able to oversee the western province’s preparation from start to finish.
That wide window of influence will be extremely useful as Connacht face into a new era.
The loss of John Muldoon and Andrew Browne leaves a chasm of experience and leadership to fill around the Sportsground, while Jake Heenan was also an important figure on and off the field.
With only three players away on Ireland duty in Australia and a coaching ticket already in place, the 49-year-old will be able to begin imposing the majority of his structures from the off, rather than installing them piecemeal and adapting as the weeks wear on.
An early point of order for Friend will be who he names as the new captain. Experienced heads remain, and if Friend veered towards naming a back, then Tiernan O’Halloran, Kieran Marmion or Bundee Aki would tick numerous boxes.
Sean O’Brien is a Connacht captain of the future, so he could be a left-field and long-term choice. Hooker Tom McCartney will deliver a senior voice with or without the captaincy, while Eoin McKeon and Eoghan Masterson would be selections very much in the Muldoon-mould. The new coach might balk at the optics of offering the ‘armband’ to a fellow former Brumbies man, but there would surely be few dissenting voices if the figurehead role went to Jarrad Butler.
It will be intriguing to see how Friend utilises his recently-signed compatriots next season too. Kyle Godwin and David Horwitz were not signed on the new coach’s watch, but he will surely appreciate having Australian playmakers to translate his strategies onto the field.
Not that he is not adaptable. A look down through his CV shows an experienced coach that is anything but rigid as he has taken up head coach roles in England and Japan after cutting his teeth in Australia – including a stint as skills coach under Eddie Jones at the Brumbies – so Galway won’t carry an enormous culture shock.
The bar for improvement is not outrageously high after the KK year either. True, there were excellent performances scattered through the season – most notably the seven-try trouncing of Leinster in what proved to be Keane’s last game – but dazzling days like that and the shoot-out defeat to Gloucester in the Challenge Cup quarter-final served as paper over the cracks of their 7-14 Pro14 form.
In the bread-and-butter domestic competition, the Westerners managed just one win on that road and needed the final-day win over Leinster to finish above Zebre in Conference A.
With experience as head coach, Friend will also be well-versed in the communication and flesh-pressing that can make a job all the easier.
Indeed, it was telling that Friend noted how keen he was to begin work ‘with the wider community’ in Connacht. Expect the grassroots of rugby in the west to be tended in the coming months.
If there is concern over the appointment of Friend, then it’s the flip-side of his availability.
Tim Walsh was appointed as his successor in charge of Australia Sevens after sixth- and fifth-place finishes in the short-form game dominated by Fiji and New Zealand. Prior to that, a reported player heave was behind his exit from the Brumbies after just two matches of his third season in charge.
But then again, that’s just the life of a head coach.
“I always say we are in such a fickle industry, and that is why I was pleased to be sacked by the Blues,” said Pat Lam in 2016.
“It is like getting dropped from a team, because you only learn from going through that. When I got sacked I said I have finally joined some of the coaches I aspire to be – because all of them have lost their jobs at some stage.”
Friend can’t possibly emulate the full extent of Lam’s influence on Connacht — and it’s to his advantage that it’s not the Samoan’s shoes he will fill — but with a talented squad invested in the project, they’ve started seasons out west in far worse shape.
Seems harsh regardless of 13. His eyes were on the ball.
@Martin Quinn: I’ve never understood why the jumping player has no duty of care for himself. Also, I believe the term tackler is not accurate as there was no tackle or player in possession.
@Martin Quinn: he is not the tackler, he was going for a high ball which does not constitute a tackle.
Issue here is consistency. Last week that double tackle on the French went unpunished given the lack of intent. Result, double facial fracture for the player. This week, where’s the intent? Possible interference too, clearly accidental. Obviously landing is horrific and we’re all for player welfare but the result is far less severe than what came before. The cancer on the game, Neil Francis aside, is that each week a different referee comes out with his own interpretation and it ruins the game.
did have eyes for ball which is frustrating for french player but still red
It’s a red. Unfortunate yes. But he took him out in the air and he landed on his head.
@David OfBrien: that is one of the things that bothers me, David. Barrett landed on his head, yes, but if he hadn’t would it have been a yellow? There has got to be an objective assessment of a tackle being or not being dangerous without consideration of the outcome. I say this because sometimes referees take the outcome into consideration and sometimes not. Then we end up having long discussions on whether it should have been a red, yellow or no card.
@David OfBrien: looks like he landed on the top of the shoulders to me but looks horrific all the same. Very lucky not to do more damage. You have to admire the bravery of players fielding the ball like that but could there be something more done to protect them?
@David OfBrien: Decisions shouldn’t be based on outcomes. Both jumped for the ball, the rules I think are a bit upfair as they sort of say that if you jump the highest, you have licence to do pretty much anything.
@Olive Barnes: 100% agree. Yes the outcome is bad, he clearly landed on head/neck, but as you say if he landed on his side that would have been a yellow. Referees should be officiating on the nature of the tackle and not the outcome.
@David OfBrien: they both went for the same ball. One player jumped the other stayed on his feet. The player who jumps puts himself into danger.
Completely different if he wasn’t watching the ball.
But in an accidental collision why should the player who’s least injured the penalised.
@Joe Kennedy: what’s on top of your shoulders Joe?haha ya I think it was a red. There was no intent to injure the player, but unfortunately the onus is on the player to make sure the opposition lands safely, and he didn’t. The issue here is that Fall didn’t jump for the ball. If he did, it would have been a fair contest and the contact with Barrett would have been higher on his body, so he wouldn’t have flipped like he did. I don’t know if there is anything that can be done to protect the players more in this case to be honest. Just a risk in the game.
@Olive Barnes: I agree. The tackle on Kearney was a clear spear tackle only Kearney got a shoulder down. Should have also been a red all day long.
Can’t hell but be cynical and wonder what the outcome would have been if the roles were reversed
Ref never seemed to consider the touch by 13 on Fall. It made him stumble slightly hence his timing for the challenge was all wrong. Bastereud should have brought that to the refs attention rather than the “eye on the ball” excuse. Probably still a red but the French must feel very hard done by. Can see a few scraps before this finishes.
Every 50/50 decision in this game has gone the way of new Zealand. Letter of
@s mc: Blame the ref not the players
@Andrew Goodman: Don’t see where he blamed the players. He made an observation. Kiwi fan feeling persecuted even when its an observation on them receiving the rub of the green!
Fall is pushed by NZ no.13 in under Barrett. (In the 2 seconds before this video) Surely this needs to be taken into account.
It is also clear that something needs to change about the rules…accidental stuff like this ruins a game. Don’t know what the answer is, but it is ruining games.
Jeez that’s awful harsh. I know player safety is at a premium now but how can you blame him for the way he ended up.
It was a red. But after last week they were robbed.
Seems to be one rule for nz and one for the rest. Also try after was forward.
@Shougeki: lies
Might seem harsh if you’re a French fan but it’s the right call by the ref. Players need to be protected in the air.
@Jim Demps: sorta agree , but this is leading to players jumping early and catching the ball in an unnatural position where they are already leaning backwards as they know that first in the air will get the refs call.
@Jg Igoe: perhaps but the rules are there for the players safety. If you get a chance go back and have a look at warburtons tackle against France in the wc that he got a red card for. At the time there were huge arguements whether it warranted a red or not. On viewing it with today’s eyes it’s a shocking tackle and the game is better off for having stamped it out.
@Jim Demps: agree on your general point but I do think the nudge from Lienert Brown means it should’ve been a yellow
Harsh red card.
After the mugging France got from the ref last week no one wanted to see this. But it was a fair call. Refs have to do what they can to protect players. That could have been a serious injury
France have a bit of pride and spirit now.. Something they have not had in a good few years
The rule should be red if intentional
Only way to stop this is players cannot jump to catch the ball. Tough I know but it’s all about player safety
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